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Friday, June 24, 2016

Oh my . . . guess what is for dinner tonight?The combination of shrimp, fresh mushrooms and roasted red peppers is perfection. Readers of my blog know how much I love shrimp pasta and always try new versions. Something tells me this will be my favorite!After drooling over this recipe, The Captain and I discussed what we would like to change in the recipe. First off, no capers. We will also opt to make shrimp stock and use white wine where the recipe calls for the second application of chicken stock. To begin with, we will be marinading the shrimp for at least two hours to ensure maximum flavor.Make this recipe uniquely yours by adding ingredients that your family loves, don't use the ones you don't love. Adjust the hot and spicy element of this dish by using a cajun seasoning that suits your taste.Don't forget a loaf of hot crusty bread to complete this meal. I will update this post after trying the recipe!UPDATEOur first try making this recipe was a comedy of errors. First of all, we DO NOT RECOMMEND using white wine. The first batch of making the gravy was ruined by the funky taste and also wasted the beautiful shrimp stock we made. We ended up using chicken stock in the second attempt at the gravy, which was delicious.How do you forget one of the most attractive and delicious ingredients in this recipe? We forgot the roasted red peppers!!!All in all, it was still a delicious meal with all the errors and we will be making it again using shrimp stock and roasted red peppers.

Ingredients

1 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning

6 ounces fettuccini pasta

1 tablespoon butter

3 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 tablespoon chopped shallots

2/3 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 cup chicken broth

1 (7 ounce) jar roasted red bell peppers

1 tablespoon drained capers

Directions

Combine peeled shrimp, oil, and Cajun seasoning and set aside in a medium bowl.

Add pasta to a large pot of lightly salted boiling water, cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

Melt butter over medium heat in a large frying pan.

Cook and stir mushrooms and shallot in butter until tender. Remove from pan.

Cook shrimp until they turn pink (about 2 to 3 minutes . . . do not overcook). Remove from pan.

Stir together sour cream and cornstarch in a small bowl. Mix in 1 cup chicken broth. Stir mixture into reduced chicken broth in the frying pan. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Cook 1 minute more. Stir in shrimp, mushroom mixture, roasted red peppers, and capers. Heat through, and season to taste. Serve over pasta.

Footnotes

You can substitute shrimp broth or white wine for the chicken broth. To make shrimp broth, reserve shrimp shells, and simmer in 2 cups water for 15 minutes.Photo and recipe source

Contributors

I'm a recipe collector and have a filing cabinet full of recipes from scouring magazines, newspapers, trading with friends and my cherished family recipes that were passed on to me by family . . . some I have no idea where they came from. I attempt to list sources when I have them . . . I'm not trying to claim any recipe as mine unless it is . . . I'm a serious foodie . . . not a professional chef!

I will also be posting those recipes that look promising to me since I'm always looking for new recipes to try out.

I'm a third generation sicilian italian-cuban-american who was fascinated with everything that happened in the kitchen as I grew up, next to my nana's side . . . watching every move that she made. She started giving me little jobs to do in the kitchen to keep from stepping on me . . . I learned how to cook at a young age, throwing things together, rarely using measuring utensils. Cooking is a passion which takes lots of tasting and nurturing what you are cooking until it is just right.

Here's the twist to my italian cooking . . . I married a southern gentleman whose mom prepared the best southern comfort food meals . . . and as a young adult, I was right there by her side, learning how to cook southern style. He and I combined the two cooking styles into our own style that never disappointed our guests.

Since my southern gentleman passed away, I got used to cooking for one . . . so there is yet another twist to my cooking . . . cooking a big meal and turning it into totally different meals.

I've since remarried and my new husband (yep, another southern gentleman) has a similar cooking style . . . and we are perfecting the art of making great meals using leftovers :)